性质 Xìngzhì Nature and 滋养 Zīyǎng Nurture

Earlier this week while running I discovered a beautiful park less than a mile from my apartment. It is like a wetland/lake park and sort of reminds me of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, but it is really unlike any park I've ever been too. While there, I was reminded why I always regret not taking my camera with me while running! So today after teaching a really interesting news reading class (more below), I biked over and got some stunning pictures at sunset. The best part though was the stillness. I needed time to think and pray and mull over some things in my mind. With no temple nearby (other than Chinese temples and pagodas :), nature was the next best place for me to go. Found so much peace walking around and sitting on rocks and watching the water.

One of my classes is an elective news reading class with all non-english majors. Today's lesson was based on an article they read for homework about divorce. We discussed as a class marriage culture in the USA vs. China and what is important in a relationship so that marriages don't end in divorce, and then I asked them to write letters to their future spouses about what they value in a marriage. I can't take any credit for this idea - the teacher before me left her lesson plans, and I kept that idea. The letters were so sweet. Here are a couple for you to enjoy.